Are we???

Are we demanding enough? Are we demanding enough from our publishers, and are we demanding enough of ourselves as collectors?

I look at my shelves of collectible small press publications, and I see, for the most part, uniformity. I see CD books that all fit nicely together, I see Sub Press and NEP books that are the exact same size and basic design as CD. I see limited's with the same publishing standards and ideas. I see (admittedly only a few in MY shelves, but I see in the LATEST TREASURE thread when photos are posted) lettered editions that use leather and leather and more leather and then even MORE leather.

With a few exceptions.

You know who you are!

I question….where is the art, where is the ingenuity, where are the differences between the books and the publishers?

Where is the value?

Are people here, people who collect the small-press publishers religiously, REALLY happy with the status quo? Don't we mind that the same old publishers are releasing books that look like the same old books? I don't mean to knock the publishers themselves (well, not TOO much), because this is what we, the consumer, seem to demand. Affordable limited editions that don't push the envelope when it comes to presentation?

Sure, the books are very nice. Don't get me wrong. I LIKE the stuff I have on my shelves, and I LIKE the stuff I don't own.

I like it all a LOT!

But I don't LOVE IT!!!

Where is THE LOVE?

Where is the beauty and the art?

Where are the unique editions?

They are out there. I know. I've seen them.

I've seen them here



And I've seen them here!

Most recently, I've seen them here!

These publishers are thinking outside the box. Outside the whole damn WAREHOUSE, really!
Are we really that impressed with the current status quo that no-one can go outside without being sanctioned?

CCP published their first lettered edition with a non-leather traycase.

I personally thought that this was a brave thing to do. I can only imagine the messages and emails HM and Brian must have received.

"What…..NOT LEATHER!!!! Well, count me out! " Something like that, maybe?

Maybe this genre of small-press horror needs to start thinking outside the box like some of the off-genre small presses do. Arion Press and Assouline are designing beautiful books….unique books!

Something I could pull down off display and show my grandkids and have them go OOOH, AAAAH!

We seem, as buyers, to have developed a mentality of I MUST HAVE EVERY BOOK I WANT. We don't pick and choose by workmanship anymore, to any real degree. We don't have a smaller collection of FINE QUALITY books, we all have the same larger collection of as many books as we can afford.

I had to re-assess my buying and reading habits last year. I had to prioritise my buying, and somehow facilitate my reading as well. DB book club (pb) has allowed me to have reading material at a much cheaper price. Thank GOD for that!

Now, I can pick and choose by publisher (and by author) in regard to the HC books I buy. I chose to get lettered editions of a couple of new small presses that appeal to me, with their ideas and their vision for the future.

Again, you know who you are.

There are also a couple of other publishers I would like to collect lettered editions of, but there are no lettered slots free at the moment.

Maybe one day!

My questions are these:

1) Do we, as buyers, really want to own everything at around $50-60, and have a million generic books, or would we like to pay a bit more, pick and choose a bit more, and have smaller, more unique, higher quality collections?

2) Do we, as customers, expect too little from the publishers in regard to design and cost for the editions we buy?



What do you all think?